Due to dissatisfaction and as a reaction to the Contract on Ethical Advertising of Medicines, which was adopted by the Management Board of HZZO at a meeting held on April 15, 2010, the Croatian Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (CARPC) and the Croatian Employers’ Association – Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (HUP-UPL) sent a letter to the competent Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, specifically to Minister Darko Milinović, requesting an urgent meeting.
The dissatisfaction of almost the entire pharmaceutical industry in the Republic of Croatia stems from the fact that all members of the mentioned associations support the introduction of the principles of ethical advertising of medicines, but strongly oppose the implementation method that includes the introduction of new financial contributions under the guise of introducing additional ‘ethical’ rules that do not actually exist, or are not clearly and transparently defined. An additional reason for opposing the Contract lies in the fact that HZZO is actually prescribing a Contract that places its provisions above the already existing positive legal regulations (Regulation on the Advertising of Medicines and Homeopathic Products) which was prescribed solely by the Ministry. The last, but certainly not the least reason for the reaction of these two umbrella associations lies in the fact that the Contract is not in anyone’s interest, has not taken into account the proposals of the mentioned representatives of the pharmaceutical industry in Croatia, and actually only confirms the monopolistic position of one of the participants in this market – the buyer of medicines, namely HZZO – which conditions the inclusion of new medicines on the list by signing the Contract. It is evident that the Minister himself will have to express his opinion on the outcome, or otherwise, there is a possibility that the majority of the burden of such a procedure by HZZO will be borne by patients, whose lives sometimes depend on medicines and the fact of whether they are on the list, as stated in the statement.
